Damned brick houses...

I knew someone should've taken out that last pig.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/world/27flu.html?em

Ok, so the nursery rhyme reference was rather childish... so is the chicken little nonsense going on in the press over 20 cases of influenza. Yes, 1400 cases in Mexico could be cause for concern, maybe a little tightening of borders, some travels restrictions (or advisories), that sort of thing. Releasing 25% of our nationwide stock of emergency flu drugs for this few cases seems rather premature to me, however. Even more, as flu cases drop precipitously during the late spring and summer (there's a strong correlation between blood circulation to the nose via being chilled and rate of cold/flu infection), meaning that this particular outbreak picked the wrong time of year to get going, statistically speaking.
Is it possible that this is actually something that should create concern? Well, the only indicator I can see for that is that it originated in Mexico, meaning it may not need the typical American winter sniffles to spread. Anyone dying of a disease makes people freak out, but I don't see 103/1400 as especially virulent. Perhaps my view of that would be different with a weaker immune system or very young/old relatives... but this isn't aerosol Ebola here folks, it's the freakin' flu, and not the 1918 variety.